Vincent Nicolas Haroney, age 96, of Northville, MI, passed away on Monday, February 1, the year of our Lord, 2021 at St. Mary Hospital in Livonia, MI. He was born November 20, 1924 in Buffalo, NY, the only son of Nicolas M. and Labiba (Morad) Haroney.
Vince served in the US Navy during World War II as a UDT Frogman in the Philippines and the Aleutian Islands. After he returned to the states, he attended college at the University of Detroit, and then the University of Springfield, MA, earning a Master’s degree in education. Employed by Oak Park High School and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Detroit, Vince was a respected teacher, mentor, and coach of many sports, including basketball, track, swimming, and diving. He could teach ANYTHING, but focused on teaching gym, English, and history at the schools.
He married Patricia Bacik on May 5, 1956, and together they raised six children. A humble family man, his family and his children were his life. He was a faithful member of St. Kenneth Catholic Church in Plymouth. Vince always liked pools, swimming, camping, golf, and tennis. He was an accomplished diver and trampolinist, was a "clown diver" at Brennan Pools in Detroit, and his favorite pastimes were playing cards and trying his luck at the horse track.
Vince shared his wisdom while parenting: always insightful in his manner of teaching, he would encourage rather than doing. Furthermore, Vince was an intense listener, calm and patient, and slow to react in his later years, in contrast to his younger years as a Frogman during the war.
He is survived by five children, Mary Patricia Haroney, Michael V. Haroney, Nicolas (Jennifer) Haroney, Julia A. (Hassan) El-Sabeh, Anne (James) Dawes; 13 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia; son, Joseph P. Haroney; and three sisters and brothers-in-law, Margarett (George) Schervish, Ella (Rocky) Dattola, and Evelyn (Ambrose) Callaghan.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, February 12, 2021, 11:00 a.m., at St. Mary Catholic Church in Chelsea, MI, with the V. Rev. Dr. William J. Canon Turner officiating. At a later date, Vince will be laid to rest with his wife at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, MI. Expressions of sympathy may be made in Vince's memory to the Wounded Warriors Project or the St. Louis Center of Chelsea. Arrangements by Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home, Chelsea.
Please Click here to view his Mass starting at 10:30 a.m. February 12, 2021
